How the artists behind 'Narnia' and 'Shrek the Musical' are creating spectacular scenes that spill off the stage

It’s this last process that usually takes days, if not weeks — a process of precise millimetres, ensuring the renderings are copied exactly to scale onto the stage.

For set-makers like Susanna Feng, head scenic artist at Young People’s Theatre, this is traditionally done in one of two ways: use a video projector to cast the original designs onto flat pieces of scenery, carefully tracing the outlines; or create a grid to transfer the designs, in proportion, onto the actual sets. 

But Feng employed neither of those approaches as she painted the set for YPT’s production of “Shrek the Musical,” now running through the end of the year. Instead, in the theatre’s scenic shop several weeks before the show’s opening, she donned a virtual reality headset and picked up a joystick. 

Using these VR tools, she overlaid the design for Shrek’s house (in her goggles) on top of the physical set piece in front of her. Then, with a pencil, she transferred those sketches onto the scenery. A process that once would take an hour was done in less than 10 minutes. 

“Shrek” is one of two major musicals currently running in Toronto with large physical designs that spill off the stage. But as the artists behind these creations are dreaming even bigger, it’s pushing the craftspeople who breathe life into the designs to innovate in new ways. 

“VR allows us to render intricate details more easily,” explained Feng. “It’s perfect for kid shows, where you have a lot of fun designs. But it can be replicated elsewhere, too.” 

Feng was inspired to pick up the technology after she saw several muralists on Instagram use VR headsets to help them transfer their sketches onto the large walls they were working with. “Because oftentimes they’re paid in a lump sum — by the project instead of by the hour — this technology helps them save a lot of time,” she said. 

It turned out to be the perfect tool for the theatre, as well, where set-makers are working on tight timelines and with limited budgets.

YPT’s “Shrek” is the company’s largest production since its run of “Mary Poppins” in 2018. Its set, designed by William Layton, renders the world of its green-skinned protagonist in brilliant technicolour, with a pair of murals stretching into the audience.

“Director Herbie Barnes just has this brain that opens up,” he said. “And early in the process, he was interested in the idea of walking into the theatre and it being an enchanted forest.” 

Layton drew inspiration from a wide range of sources: Henri Matisse, Keith Haring and the Group of Seven. He knew his designs were ambitious. “But I’m always amazed by the talent around in this building. There are really no constraints here,” he said. “There’s a sense of adventure, fearlessness. And you see that in the innovation.”

Over at the Distillery District, the Bad Hats, Soulpepper and Crow’s Theatre co-production of the musical “Narnia,” based on the classic C.S. Lewis adventure tale, features some equally dazzling designs. 

Shannon Lea Doyle’s wooden set depicts a grand Victorian house that transforms into everything from the pastoral land of Narnia to the frosty world of the evil Witch’s domain. The most impressive feature of the production, however, is not what’s in the theatre, but what’s outside. 

As part of the musical’s holiday run, Doyle also designed an installation that completely transforms the lobby of the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, serving as a bridge between the story onstage and the Distillery District’s Winter Village. 

When visitors step through the building’s newly transformed double-door entrance, they’ll be walking through the wardrobe that transports the Pevensie siblings into the world of Narnia.

Gone are the lobby tables and chairs, replaced with rows of fir trees and tinsel cascading down from the ceiling. In one corner is an area to pay a visit to Santa. In another nook: a children’s play area with animated screens depicting the house where the Pevensie children are staying. 

“‘Narnia’ is such an expansive story and there are so many books that describe this place,” said Doyle. “So the lobby installation was really an opportunity to expand on the things that are just sort of touched upon in the play.” 

Doyle and her team, much like Layton, drew inspiration from everywhere. Isabella Staffieri, a third-year interior design student at OCAD University who assisted with the installation’s design, said that while most of her inspiration came from the script, she also pulled ideas from Pinterest and the “Narnia” movie adaptations. “I wanted to immerse myself in the world of Narnia,” she said, “and imagine the vibe that I wanted to perceive as a visitor.” 

For Doyle, the process of developing both the show’s set and the lobby installation began back in the spring. But while both designs are connected, she treated each as separate, unique mediums.

“Ultimately, there’s a narrative that’s predetermined onstage. But with an installation, the viewer gets to create their own narrative,” she said. “It’s two different ways of attacking space.”